Jet streams are high velocity winds, blowing at great heights above the earth's surface. These winds are typically found at altitudes between 11 and 13 km (air pressure of 200 millibars). The thickness (i.e. height) of a typical jet stream is about 3 km, its width is about 60 km, and its length can be hundreds or thousands of km. The average daily maximal speed of the jet streams is about 120 km per hour above Israel, 240 km/hour above Europe and the U.S.A. and 360 km/hour above Japan. Jet streams typically obtain a maximum speed of about 200 km/hour above Israel, 370 km/hour above Europe and the U.S.A. and 550 km/hour over Japan.
The significance of these speeds, when expressed in terms of the power they can yield is understood from the equation P=½ mv2=ρv3 reflecting the wind's power, where P=power in watts; m=mass flux rate in kg-mass air per second through an area of one m2 normal to the earth's surface; v=wind velocity in meters/second; and ρ=wind density in kg/m3. Even though ρ at high altitudes is about a quarter of its value at sea-surface height, this factor is of little importance versus the v3 term in the equation noted hereinabove.
To take advantage of jet stream energy, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,426,214, O'Malley discloses an electric power generating system including a high tower whose height is sufficient to extend into the high wind or jet stream layers of the atmosphere. The high tower has a plurality of spaced wind driven electric generators mounted thereon. Details regarding design of the high tower, such as the materials, size and so on, are not disclosed.
Examples of generators or turbines, dynamos, or other apparatus to convert wind power into useful energy that may be used, include those mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,827 (Lois); U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,516 (Kling); U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,102 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,468 (Fry); U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,364 (Benoit); U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,596 (Mouton Jr. et al); U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,006 (Biscomb); U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,669 (Pugh); U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,962 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,940 (Shepard); U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,592 (Krolick et al); U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,458 (McConanchy); U.S. Pat. No. 6,057,606 (Porat); U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,595 (Herman); U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,781 (Ragner); U.S. Pat. No. 6,555,931 (Mizzi); U.S. Pat. No. 6,781,254 (Roberts); U.S. Pat. No. 7,183,663 (Roberts et al); U.S. Pat. No. 7,275,719 (Olson), which are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety.